The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.
| Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000 | ||||
| 1990 | 2000 | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Only English | 26,139 | 97.15% | 36,616 | 94.55% |
| Spanish | 442 | 1.64% | 1,459 | 3.77% |
| Other Indo-European* | 247 | 0.92% | 506 | 1.31% |
| Asian Language** | 32 | 0.12% | 95 | 0.25% |
| Other | 46 | 0.17% | 50 | 0.13% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 26,906 | 100.00% | 38,726 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 869 | 59.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 105 | 20.75% |
| Asian Language** | 45 | 47.37% |
| Other Language | 23 | 46.00% |
| Total | 1,042 | 2.69% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 212 | 47.96% |
| Other Indo-European* | 102 | 41.30% |
| Asian Language** | 24 | 75.00% |
| Other Language | 7 | 15.22% |
| Total | 345 | 1.28% |
* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."
** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.
Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.
Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).
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